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No Other Land

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No Other Land
Festival release poster
Directed by
Written by
  • Basel Adra
  • Hamdan Ballal
  • Yuval Abraham
  • Rachel Szor
Produced by
  • Fabien Greenberg
  • Bård Kjøge Rønning
CinematographyRachel Szor
Edited by
  • Basel Adra
  • Hamdan Ballal
  • Yuval Abraham
  • Rachel Szor
Music byJulius Pollux Rothlaender
Production
companies
  • Yabayay Media
  • Antipode Films
Release date
Running time
95 minutes
Countries
  • Palestine
  • Norway
Languages
  • Arabic
  • Hebrew
  • English

No Other Land is a 2024 documentary film directed by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor in their directorial debut. The film was made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four activists as an act of resistance on the path to justice during the ongoing conflict in the region.[1][2]

A co-production between Palestine and Norway, the film was selected for the Panorama section at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 16 February 2024,[3] winning the Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary Film,[4] and the Berlinale Documentary Film Award.[5]

Premise

[edit]

A young Palestinian activist named Basel Adra has been resisting the forced displacement of his people by Israel's military in Masafer Yatta, a region in the West Bank, since he was a child. He records the gradual destruction of his homeland, where Israeli soldiers are tearing down homes and evicting their inhabitants. He befriends Yuval, an Israeli journalist who helps him in his struggle. They form an unexpected bond, but their friendship is challenged by the huge gap between their living conditions: Basel faces constant oppression and violence, while Yuval enjoys freedom and security.

Production

[edit]

In an interview at the Berlinale, Adra and Abraham spoke with Variety about the film.

Basel Adra spoke about development of the film. He said, "Yuval and Rachel, who are Israelis, came five years ago to write about things — Yuval is journalist — we met and we became friends but also activists together, working on articles about the area." He further said, "And then we got the idea of doing this, of creating this movie."

About filming Abraham said:[6]

Basal’s family and neighbors had a huge archive of videos that were filmed over the course of 20 years. And then we as activists, we were there on the ground together, working together for almost five years, and we filmed a lot. We had Rachel, the cinematographer and co-director of the film, who was shooting us. So there was an abundance of footage. The military entered Basal’s home twice and confiscated computers and cameras. So we were always very, very stressed. It was complicated logistically and quite stressful, but in the end we managed.

The documentary was filmed over four years between 2019 and 2023, wrapping production in October 2023.[7]

Release

[edit]

No Other Land had its world premiere on 16 February 2024, as part of the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, in Panorama.[8][9]

The film had its international premiere at Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival on 15 March 2024, in the section "Urgent Matters" and the "Conflicted" theme.[10] It featured in the "Popular Front(s)" in the 46th Cinéma du Réel Festival that took place from 22 to March 31, 2024 in Paris.[11]

The film was also presented in the International Documentaries section of the 71st Sydney Film Festival on June 13, 2024.[12] It was also screened in 'Horizons' at the 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on 28 June 2024.[13][14]

It was selected in TIFF Docs at 2024 Toronto International Film Festival where it was screened on September 12 2024.[15] It will be screened in 'Showcase' at the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival on 28 September 2024.[16] It was also selected in Documentary Showcase at the 29th Busan International Film Festival and screened on October 3, 2024.[17] It also made it to Main Slate of 2024 New York Film Festival and was screened at the Lincoln Center in October 2024.[18][19]

The film was selected for the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024 under the World Cinema section, where it was to have its South Asia premiere.[20] However, its screenings were cancelled as the festival could not receive the 'required permissions' in time.[21]

Reception

[edit]

Critical response

[edit]

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes website, the film has an an approval rating of 100% based on 40 reviews.[22] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 90 out of 100 based on 15 reviews, indicating "Universal acclaim".[23]

Olivia Popp, reviewing the film at Berlinale for Cineuropa, wrote: "No Other Land is at its best when it achieves cinematographic mobility, the camera acting as an extension of this activist interrogation of violent Israeli occupation and not as a detached observer."[24]

Lovia Gyarkye reviewing the film for The Hollywood Reporter dubbed it as "A devastating portrait," and opined, "The film is not a document of solutions, but it does position itself as a step in the movement toward a future where Palestinians are just as free as Israelis."[25]

Jonathan Romney, reviewing the film at Berlinale, wrote in ScreenDaily: "A documentary that is particularly urgent and eye-opening in the context of the current Israeli–Palestinian conflict."[26]

Guy Lodge writing in Variety said, "Given the conditions of its production, No Other Land would be vital even in a more ragged form. But the filmmaking here is tight and considered..."[27]

David Ehrlich of IndieWire reviewing at Berlinale graded the film A and wrote, "The footage is out there, and it’s rarely been assembled into a more concise, powerful, and damning array than it is here. Now it only has to be seen."[28]

Writing for RogerEbert.com, Robert Daniels said, "In the hands of these filmmakers the camera becomes a weapon for truth and resistance, and a tool for conservation — recording some proof that their village existed".[29]

Accolades

[edit]
Award Date Category Recipient Result Ref.
Berlin International Film Festival 25 February 2024 Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary Film No Other Land Won [8]
[4]
Berlinale Documentary Film Award Won [30]
[5]
[31]
Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival 22 March 2024 Audience Award Won [32]
Visions du Réel 19 April 2024 Audience Award Won [33]
Millennium Docs Against Gravity 16 May 2024 Grand Prix Bank Millennium Award Won [34]
[35]
Audience Award Won [36]
Vancouver International Film Festival 6 October 2024 Audience Award – Showcase Won [37]
Busan International Film Festival 11 October 2024 Busan Cinephile Award Won [38]
Chicago International Film Festival 27 October 2024 Gold Hugo – Documentary Competition Nominated [39]
Asia Pacific Screen Awards 30 November 2024 Best Documentary Film Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor, Fabien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning Pending [40]
Gotham Awards 2 December 2024 Best Documentary Feature Pending [41]
International Documentary Association Awards 5 December 2024 Best Feature Documentary Pending [42]
Best Director Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor, and Yuval Abraham Pending
Courage Under Fire Award Won
European Film Awards 7 December 2024 European Film No Other Land Pending [43]
European Documentary Pending
British Independent Film Awards 8 December 2024 Best International Independent Film Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Fabrien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning Pending [44]
Cinema Eye Honors 9 January 2025 Outstanding Non-Fiction Feature Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor, Fabien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning, Julius Pollux Rothlaender and Bård Harazi Farbu Pending [45]
Outstanding Direction Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor Pending
Outstanding Debut Pending
Outstanding Production Fabien Greenberg and Bård Kjøge Rønning Pending
The Unforgettables Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra Won

Berlinale

[edit]
Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham, Berlinale Documentary Award

At the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, No Other Land won the Berlinale Documentary Award and the Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary Film.[4] During their acceptance speeches for the Berlinale Documentary Award, Abraham criticized Israel saying:[46]

We are standing in front of you now, me and Basel are the same age. I am Israeli; Basel is Palestinian. And in two days we will go back to a land where we are not equal. I am living under a civilian law and Basel is under military law. We live 30 minutes from one another, but I have voting rights. Basel is not having voting rights. I’m free to move where I want in this land. Basel is, like millions of Palestinians, locked in the occupied West Bank. This situation of apartheid between us, this inequality, it has to end.

Adra, in his acceptance speech, said:[47]

It’s our first movie since many years my community, my family has been filming our community being erased by this brutal occupation. I am here celebrating the award, but also very hard for me to celebrate when there are tens of thousands of my people being slaughtered and massacred by Israel in Gaza. Masafer Yatta, my community, is being also razed by Israeli bulldozers. I ask one thing: for Germany, as I am in Berlin here, to respect the U.N. calls and stop sending weapons to Israel.

The Berlinale also featured other numerous pro-Palestine protests during the acceptance speeches and red carpet — including from Golden Bear winner Mati Diop.[5][48] Following the closing ceremony on 25 February 2024, an Instagram account linked to the Panorama section published an allegedly official statement from the Festival organizers, demanding German authorities to withdraw its arms supplies to Israel. Shortly afterwards, the Berlinale's main Instagram account stated that the Panorama account had been hacked, and announced plans to “file criminal charges against unknown persons”.[49] Berlin Mayor, Kai Wegner, and numerous others German politicians expressed outrage, calling the speeches "anti-semitic", with Wegner stating on Twitter that "Berlin is firmly on Israel’s side."[48] Even though the Festival is mainly funded by the German government, the organizers affirmed the "filmmakers' statements were independent and should be accepted as long as they respect the legal framework".[50][51]

Abraham said to The Guardian, "To stand on German soil as the son of Holocaust survivors and call for a ceasefire – and to then be labelled as antisemitic is not only outrageous, it is also literally putting Jewish lives in danger,"[52] and reported that his family in Israel had evacuated their home after "a right-wing Israeli mob"[53] came in search of him. He was also concerned for the safety of Adra, who had since returned to the West Bank.[52]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ The film shows the destruction of the occupied West Bank's Masafer Yatta community by Israeli soldiers. Adra, Basel (22 January 2024). "No Other Land". Cineuropa. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  2. ^ Dijksterhuis, Edo. "Camera as a weapon of proof". International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  3. ^ Abbatescianni, Davide (17 January 2024). "The Panorama strand of the Berlinale to open with Levan Akin's Crossing". Cineuropa. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Roxborough, Scott (24 February 2024). "Berlin: Memories of a Burning Body, No Other Land Win Panorama Audience Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Abbatescianni, Davide (24 February 2024). "Mati Diop's Dahomey bags the Berlinale Golden Bear". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  6. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (16 February 2024). "Palestinian, Israeli Activists Talk No Other Land Doc on Eradication of Palestinian Villages and Hopes It Can Help 'Find a Political Solution'". Variety. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  7. ^ Whānau Mārama: No Other Land. Retrieved 13 August 2024 – via www.nziff.co.nz.
  8. ^ a b Goodfellow, Melanie (17 January 2024). "Berlinale Unveils Full Panorama, Forum & Generation Line-Ups With New Films By Nathan Silver, Levan Akin, André Téchiné & Bruce LaBruce". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  9. ^ "No Other Land". Berlinale. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  10. ^ "No Other Land: Rachel Szor, Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra & Hamdan Bilal / Palestine / 2024 / International Premiere / 95 min". CPH:DOX. 23 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  11. ^ Lemercier, Fabien (22 March 2024). "Documentaries cause a stir in Paris thanks to the Cinéma du Réel Festival". Cineuropa. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  12. ^ "No Other Land". Sydney Film Festival Festival. 6 June 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Catalogue of Films – Horizons". The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  14. ^ Kudlac, Martin (14 June 2024). "Karlovy Vary unveils the full line-up for its 58th edition". Cineuropa. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  15. ^ Kay, Jeremy (7 August 2024). "TIFF Docs line-up includes Edna O'Brien, Adam Kinzinger profiles". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  16. ^ "No Other Land". VIFF. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  17. ^ "The 29th Busan International Film Festival: Selection List". Busan International Film Festival. 3 September 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  18. ^ "62nd New York Film Festival Main Slate Announced". Film at Lincoln Center. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  19. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (6 August 2024). "New York Film Festival Unveils Main Slate". Deadline. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  20. ^ Deb, Deepshikha (30 September 2024). "MAMI Mumbai Film Festival Unveils 2024 Official Lineup". High On Films. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  21. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  22. ^ "No Other Land (2024, Documentary)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  23. ^ "No Other Land". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  24. ^ Popp, Olivia (18 February 2024). "Review: No Other Land". Cineuropa. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  25. ^ Gyarkye, Lovia (20 February 2024). "No Other Land Review: A Sobering Doc Chronicles Violent Evictions of Palestinians in the West Bank". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  26. ^ Romney, Jonathan (17 February 2024). "No Other Land: Berlin Review". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  27. ^ Guy Lodge (23 February 2024). "No Other land Review: A Frank, Devastating Protest Against Israel's West Bank Occupation". Variety. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  28. ^ Ehrlich, David (23 February 2024). "No Other Land Review: A Vital and Wrenching Doc About Israel's Barbaric Efforts to Expel a Palestinian Community". IndieWire. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  29. ^ Daniels, Robert (21 February 2024). "Berlin Film Festival 2024: Abiding Nowhere, Pepe, No Other Land". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  30. ^ "Berlinale Documentary Award and Jury". Berlinale. 24 February 2024. Archived from the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  31. ^ Roxborough, Scott (24 February 2024). "Mati Diop Doc Dahomey Wins Berlin Golden Bear". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  32. ^ Carey, Matthew (22 March 2024). "'The Flats' And 'No Other Land' Land Big Honors at CPH:DOX". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  33. ^ "Le Grand Prix décerné à la Suissesse Nicole Vögele". Tribune de Genève. 21 April 2024. Archived from the original on 7 May 2024.
  34. ^ "The Winners of The 21st Millennium Docs Against Gravity Announced!". mdag.pl. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  35. ^ Dróżdż, Dawid (17 May 2024). "Film o izraelskiej okupacji triumfuje na polskim festiwalu. Oto zwycięzcy 21. Millennium Docs Against Gravity". wyborcza.pl. Wyborcza. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  36. ^ "No Other Land and Forest win at the 21st Millennium Docs Against Gravity". Cineuropa. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  37. ^ Jamie Casemore, "In Brief: The Chef & the Daruma wins at VIFF Audience Awards". Playback, October 17, 2024.
  38. ^ Shackleton, Liz (10 October 2024). "Korea's 'The Land Of Morning Calm', Myanmar's 'MA Cry Of Silence' Win New Currents Awards At Busan". Deadline. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  39. ^ Kay, Jeremy (20 September 2024). "'All We Imagine As Light', 'The End', 'Harvest' among Chicago International Film Festival line-up (exclusive)". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  40. ^ "17th ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED". Asia Pacific Screen Awards. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  41. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (29 October 2024). "Gotham Awards Nominations: 'Anora' Leads Pack, 'Challengers' & 'Nickel Boys' Among Group Up For Best Feature". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  42. ^ Bergeson, Samantha (19 November 2024). "IDA Documentary Awards Announces 2024 Nominees: 'Sugarcane,' 'No Other Land,' and More". IndieWire. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  43. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (5 November 2024). "'Emilia Pérez,' 'Seed of the Sacred Fig,' 'Room Next Door' Lead European Film Award Nominations". IndieWire. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  44. ^ Szalai, Georg (5 November 2024). "British Independent Film Awards: 'Kneecap,' 'Love Lies Bleeding' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  45. ^ Hipes, Patrick (24 October 2024). "Cinema Eye Honors: 'Girls State', 'Ren Faire' Lead Broadcast Nominees; Audience Choice Award Longlist Revealed". Deadline. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  46. ^ Axelrod, Toby (26 February 2024). "Israeli journalist criticizes West Bank 'apartheid' at Berlin film festival ceremony marked by Gaza war protests". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  47. ^ Goodman, Amy (5 April 2024). "Israeli Director of "No Other Land" Slams Claims of Antisemitism After Berlin Film Fest Controversy". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  48. ^ a b Ntim, Zac (26 February 2024). "Berlin Mayor Criticizes "Anti-Semitic" Berlinale Closing Ceremony As Hackers Post Ceasefire Message To Fest's Social". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  49. ^ Frater, Patrick (26 February 2024). "Berlin Film Festival Files Criminal Charges After Anti-Semitic Hacking, Criticizes Award-Winner Statements". Variety. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  50. ^ "Berlinale film festival marred by 'antisemitic' protests". euronews. 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  51. ^ Vicente, Álex (20 February 2024). "The Berlinale on the war front: How the Israel–Palestine conflict undermined the film festival". El País. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  52. ^ a b Oltermann, Philip (27 February 2024). "Israeli director receives death threats after officials call Berlin film festival 'antisemitic'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  53. ^ Pita, Antonio (2 March 2024). "'We will be waiting for you': Israeli filmmaker targeted by death threats after speech in Berlin". EL PAÍS English. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
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